15 Best Mac Apps for Developers in 2026, Grouped by Job

My dev setup has settled over the years into a short list of apps that each do one job well. I reinstall the same ones on every new Mac, in roughly the same order. This is that list for 2026, grouped by the job each app does, checked against each vendor's own site on 9 October 2026.

I build one of these apps, MacMD Viewer, a read-only Markdown viewer. It sits in the "reading docs" group, with the free alternative named next to it. For the general apps every Mac needs (window manager, clipboard, archives), see my must-have Mac apps for 2026; this post sticks to developer tools.

Quick answer: the 15 picks#

• Ghostty, best terminal. Native, GPU-accelerated, free.
• Zed, best fast editor. Native, open source, free unless you want its AI plan.
• VS Code, best all-round editor. Free, and every language has an extension.
• Cursor, best editor for AI agents. A VS Code fork built around agent work.
• Fork, best git client. Fast, clear history, free to evaluate.
• Kaleidoscope, best diff and merge tool. Text, images and folders side by side.
• Proxyman, best HTTP debugging proxy. Inspect and mock traffic from Mac apps and the iOS Simulator.
• Bruno, best API client. Collections are plain files you commit to git.
• OrbStack, best Docker Desktop replacement. Containers, Kubernetes and Linux machines in a native app.
• TablePlus, best database GUI. One native client for Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, Redis and more.
• Dash, best offline documentation browser. 200+ API docsets, searchable from anywhere.
• MacMD Viewer, best for reading Markdown docs and agent plans. Quick Look in Finder and live reload.
• Homebrew, best package manager. Installs every other tool here.
• Raycast, best launcher for developers. Script your own commands.
• DevUtils, best offline dev toolbox. JSON, JWT, Base64 and 40+ more tools without a browser tab.

How do the developer apps compare?#

App	Best for	Price model	Native or Electron
Ghostty	Terminal	Free, open source	Native
Zed	Fast editing	Free, AI plans by subscription	Native
VS Code	All-round editing	Free	Electron
Cursor	AI agents in the editor	Free Hobby tier, subscriptions	Electron
Fork	Git	Free evaluation, paid licence	Native
Kaleidoscope	Diff and merge	Subscription, 7-day trial	Native
Proxyman	HTTP debugging	Limited free trial, one-time or subscription	Native
Bruno	API requests	Free, open source; paid tiers by subscription	Electron
OrbStack	Containers and Linux VMs	Free for personal use, subscription for commercial	Native
TablePlus	Databases	Limited free trial, one-time licence	Native
Dash	Offline docs	Yearly subscription	Native
MacMD Viewer	Reading Markdown	One-time ($19.99)	Native
Homebrew	Installing tools	Free, open source	Command line
Raycast	Launcher and scripts	Free core, Pro subscription	Mac app (stack not published)
DevUtils	Small dev utilities	One-time licence	Native

Five cost nothing for an individual developer (Ghostty, VS Code, Bruno, Homebrew, and OrbStack for personal use), and three more (Zed, Cursor, Raycast) have a free tier that does the core job. The subscriptions that remain mostly buy AI credits (Zed, Cursor, Raycast) or commercial use (OrbStack).

Terminal#

Ghostty#

Ghostty is the terminal I live in. Its Mac interface is written in Swift with AppKit, rendering is GPU-accelerated, and it is free and open source. Tabs, splits and the settings feel like a Mac app, not a port of a Linux tool. If iTerm2 or Terminal.app already work for you, there is no urgency: the gain is speed and a cleaner config.

Choose it if you spend hours a day in a terminal and want it fast, native and free.

Editors and IDEs#

I treat editors as a personal choice and don't argue anyone out of theirs. Here is how the three I use split.

Zed#

Zed is the editor I open when I want to edit, not configure. It starts instantly, stays responsive on large files and has collaboration built in. The editor is free and open source. The Personal plan is $0 with a quota of AI edit predictions and unlimited use with your own API keys; Pro is a monthly subscription with unlimited predictions and token credit.

Its extension catalogue is smaller than VS Code's, so check yours exists before you switch.

Choose it if you want a native editor that feels as fast as your terminal.

VS Code#

VS Code is the safe default. It is free, every language and framework has an extension, and most tutorials assume you have it. Version 1.141 shipped on 7 October 2026, so it keeps moving monthly. It is an Electron app, and you feel that in memory use with a few extensions loaded.

Choose it if you work across many languages and want the largest extension catalogue.

Cursor#

Cursor is a fork of VS Code built around AI agents: you describe a change, it edits across files, you review the diff. Your VS Code extensions and settings carry over. The Hobby tier is free with limited agent requests; the individual plans start at $20 a month. I compare it with a terminal agent in Cursor vs Claude Code.

Choose it if you want agents inside your editor rather than in a terminal.

Git and diff#

Fork#

Fork is the git client I keep coming back to. The commit graph is readable, interactive rebase is a drag-and-drop list, and staging individual lines is fast. It is free to evaluate; a licence covers one user on up to three machines.

The alternative I'd look at is Tower, which has more workflow features and a 30-day trial, but it is sold only as a yearly subscription.

Choose it if you want a visual git client that is fast and that you can try for free before you buy a licence.

Kaleidoscope#

Kaleidoscope is a dedicated diff and merge tool. It compares text with character-level changes, images (split, blink or pixel diff) and whole folders, and it plugs into git for 3-way merges and file history. Kaleidoscope 7 needs macOS 15 or later. It is a subscription, with a 7-day trial. Your editor already diffs text; Kaleidoscope earns its place on folders, images and heavy merges.

Choose it if merge conflicts and image diffs are a regular part of your week.

API and network#

Proxyman#

Proxyman sits between your apps and the network, decrypts HTTPS and lets you inspect, break on, or rewrite requests. It captures iOS Simulator traffic without manual proxy or certificate setup, which is the reason iOS developers install it. Map Local and JavaScript scripting let you mock a backend that doesn't exist yet. The free trial limits you to one debugging rule; paid licences are one-time (with a year of updates) or a team subscription.

Choose it if you build apps that talk to an API and need to see what is actually on the wire.

Bruno#

Bruno is an API client that stores collections as plain text files in a folder on your disk, in its own Bru format. That means your requests live in the repo, next to the code, and go through code review like everything else. The core is MIT-licensed and free; Pro and Ultimate are per-user subscriptions. Release 4.2.1 came out on 30 September 2026 with security fixes. It is an Electron app.

Choose it if you want API requests versioned in git instead of in someone's cloud workspace.

Containers and local dev#

OrbStack#

OrbStack replaced Docker Desktop on my Mac. It runs Docker containers, Kubernetes and full Linux machines from a native Swift app; its docs claim a start time of about two seconds and lower CPU, memory and battery use. It is free for personal, non-commercial use; commercial use needs the Pro subscription, billed per user.

Choose it if you run containers daily on a MacBook and Docker Desktop feels heavy.

Homebrew#

Homebrew installs command-line tools and, through casks, regular Mac apps. Almost every app in this post installs with brew install --cask <name>, and brew upgrade --greedy updates the ones that otherwise update themselves. It is run by volunteers as a non-profit project; Homebrew 7.0.0 is the latest major release on its blog.

Choose it if you install anything on a Mac. Install it first.

Databases#

TablePlus#

TablePlus is one native client for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Redis, MariaDB, CockroachDB, Redshift and Vertica. It opens fast, edits rows inline and stages changes until you commit them, which has saved me from more than one bad UPDATE. The licence is perpetual: one year of updates included, and you keep the app after that. The free trial caps you at two tabs and two windows.

Choose it if you query more than one kind of database and want one tool for all of them.

Reading docs and Markdown#

Dash#

Dash gives you offline, searchable access to 200+ API documentation sets. It has been a yearly subscription since Dash 7; Dash 8 shipped in September 2025.

Choose it if you look up API docs dozens of times a day, or code on planes and trains.

MacMD Viewer (I build this one)#

Developers read a lot of Markdown that someone else wrote: READMEs, CHANGELOGs, design docs, and now the plans and reports AI agents write into .md files. MacMD Viewer is a native, read-only viewer for those files. Press Space on a .md file in Finder and its Quick Look extension shows it rendered, with Mermaid diagrams and highlighted code. Open it and you get a reading window with an outline, 12 themes and PDF export. When your editor or a coding agent saves the file, the open window reloads, so you can watch a plan being written.

It doesn't edit, by design: it pairs with Zed, VS Code or Cursor. It costs $19.99 once. If you only want Finder previews, QLMarkdown is a free, open-source Quick Look extension. I compare the options in the best Markdown viewers, and the agent workflow in reading Claude Code plans on a Mac.

Choose it if you read more Markdown than you write and want it rendered outside your editor.

Utilities#

Raycast#

Raycast replaces Spotlight, and for developers the draw is that you can extend it. Custom extensions and developer tooling are included on the free plan, along with clipboard history, snippets and window management. Pro, Plus and Max are subscriptions that add AI credits. Choose it if you want a keyboard launcher you can program.

DevUtils#

DevUtils bundles 47+ small tools: JSON formatter, JWT and Base64 decoders, regex tester, timestamp converter, UUID generator and more. It runs entirely offline, so pasted tokens and payloads never leave your Mac, which is the reason I stopped using random websites for this. It is a one-time licence with a year of updates, also available on the App Store and Setapp. Version 1.17.0 is current.

Choose it if you paste JWTs or production JSON into websites to read them. Stop, and use this.

Methodology: how I picked these#

• Daily use. Every app here runs on my Apple Silicon Mac, the one I build and ship MacMD Viewer on. I left out tools I tried once.
• Native preferred. When a native app and an Electron app do the job equally well, the native one wins on memory and battery. VS Code, Cursor and Bruno stay because their ecosystems or file formats beat the native options.
• Price model from the source. I read each vendor's pricing page, changelog or GitHub releases on 9 October 2026 and give the model (free, one-time, subscription) rather than every price. Prices change; check before you buy.
• Disclosure. I build MacMD Viewer and earn money when you buy it. I put it in its group, not at the top, and named the free alternative.

How to choose: a decision framework#

• New Mac, day one: Homebrew, Ghostty, then your editor. Everything else installs from Homebrew.
• Web and backend: OrbStack, TablePlus and Bruno. Add Proxyman when a client-side bug needs network evidence.
• iOS and macOS apps: Proxyman first, then Fork and Kaleidoscope for the merge-heavy weeks.
• Working with AI agents: Cursor or a terminal agent in Ghostty, plus a viewer such as MacMD Viewer or QLMarkdown to read the plans they write. My notes on setting up a Mac for Claude Code go further.
• No subscriptions: Ghostty, VS Code, Homebrew, Bruno's free edition, plus one-time licences for Fork, TablePlus and DevUtils.

Frequently Asked Questions#

What are the best Mac apps for developers in 2026?#

For most developers: Ghostty as the terminal, Zed or VS Code as the editor (Cursor if you want AI agents in the editor), Fork for git, Proxyman or Bruno for APIs, OrbStack for Docker, TablePlus for databases, Dash for offline docs, and Homebrew to install all of it. Raycast and DevUtils cover the small daily utilities.

Which developer apps for Mac are free?#

Ghostty, VS Code, Homebrew and Bruno's open-source edition are free. Zed, Cursor and Raycast are free at their core and charge a subscription for AI. OrbStack is free for personal, non-commercial use. Fork and Proxyman offer a free evaluation, and TablePlus a limited free trial.

Is OrbStack better than Docker Desktop on a Mac?#

For local development on Apple Silicon, OrbStack is lighter: it is a native Swift app that runs Docker containers, Kubernetes and Linux machines, and it starts in about two seconds according to its docs. It is free for personal use and a per-user subscription for commercial use, so check your company's licence situation either way.

Which developer apps are native and which use Electron?#

In this list, Ghostty, Zed, Fork, Kaleidoscope, Proxyman, OrbStack, TablePlus, Dash, DevUtils and MacMD Viewer are native Mac apps. VS Code, Cursor and Bruno are built on Electron. Homebrew is a command-line tool.

What is the best way to read Markdown docs and AI agent plans on a Mac?#

Your editor's preview works while you edit. To read outside the editor, QLMarkdown is a free Quick Look extension for Finder, and MacMD Viewer ($19.99 one-time) adds a reading window with Mermaid diagrams and live reload while an agent writes the file. See the best Markdown viewers for a full comparison.